Honest question about horse racing...

[DAWG61]

why does a horse have to be euthanized if it breaks an ankle? Do horses bones not reheal? I am asking this because I don't know.

 

[DAWG61]

why does a horse have to be euthanized if it breaks an ankle? Do horses bones not reheal? I am asking this because I don't know.

 

[PosterFormerlyKnownAsRFAA]

It wasn't that she broke an ankle, it was that she broke both and one was so severe that it had pierced the skin.

I think it is damn near impossible to for that to heal.

 

[SwampDawg]

That broke just one and went through all kinds of operations and rehab and they still wound up having to put him down. I was talking to a guy today (have no idea what his credentials are) that said a horse's bones aren't really strong until they are 4 years old. Beats me.

 

[davatron]

Edited to add Wiki link

 

[Stansfield]

They probably could fix the horses bones and spend crap loads of money on it so that it could just go out to pasture and eat oats, but then it would be worthless to the human who owns it.

 

[State82]

and with both ankles broken, that would not be possible. With Barbaro, one of his back legs was shattered, and they repaired it surgically, put it in a cast and he could still stand on the other three. However, the way a horse would have to redistribute his weight on just three legs ultimately results in other problems and that eventually caused him to be put down. And with 2 legs damaged, no way.

 

[Bulldog Backer]

why does a horse have to be euthanized if it breaks an ankle? Do horses bones not reheal? I am asking this because I don't know.

...that Eight Belles had a compound fracture of one foreleg (severe break with bone protruding), and a fracture of the other foreleg. She could not get up. She probably weighed close to 1500 pounds or more. Equine surgery is difficult enough, but it would have been impossible for Eight Belles. I just noticed that State82, also addressed this very well.
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[mstatefanatic]

because of the way a horse is built, any problem with their legs can cause major circulatory issues that put the horse in an immense amount of pain. Horses are considerably fragile, considering legs that are about as thin as the average human teenager are supporting a 2000 pound load.

 

[PineGroveBully]

That was a goldmine that was put down. She finished 2nd in the Kentucky Derby. There's no telling what her colts would have been worth to the owner. Her bred to a Derby Winner would spit out colts that would be worth more than most of us will ever make in a lifetime.

 

[Porkchop.sixpack]

races horses are more fragile than horses in general. Those light bones that make them fast -- easy to break. The animals really are bred toward a standard that makes this occurance fairly common (not the double break, but breaks in general.)

 

[jmbeck]

...when you can't walk.

Just sayin'.

Oh, and lineage isn't a sure thing. It's desirable, and it costs more, but it's not a guarantee.

Otherwise, all racehorses now would be descendants of Secretariat or Man 'O War.

Or Seabiscuit.

 

[Porkchop.sixpack]

Horse Racing's Royal Bloodline

 

[PineGroveBully]

I was responding to Stansfelds "They probably could fix the horses bones and spend crap loads of money on it so that it could just go out to pasture and eat oats, but then it would be worthless to the human who owns it. "

Specifically the worthless to the human who owns it part IF it could have been fixed. And nobody said anything about a guarantee but most colts that run in the derby and other races are bred from Derby winners of the past. But so few phillies run let alone place, hence the expensive colts.

 

[Eureka Dog]

horses break lower leg bones. Horses don't heal well from such an injury.

Think about it. Think how much money is spent on Thoroughbreds. Owners just don't put down such a horse on a whim. FWIW, even PETA isn't complaining about the ultimate decision.

Believe me, Eight Belles was saved a lot of pain and agony.

 

[Eureka Dog]

desirable due to the flaw, weakness in her leg bones.

 

[DAWG61]

the Vet didn't even ask the owner or the trainer if they could euthanize the horse. They just did it immediately. Can you say lawsuit because they where not even allowed a chance to get live tissue samples, and yes they can clone horses now. This was on ESPN:60

 

[TilloDawg]

the trainer even knew she had went down.....

 

[dawgoneyall]

when you tell them to keep off the leg until it heals. They just won't listen.

 

[jmbeck]

The only reason I know this is because Genuine Risk was the Derby winner in the year I was born.

Anyway, the colt was born stillborn. The money it would have fetched, being the only colt ever sired from two Kentucky Derby winners, would have been phenomenal. She was mated with Secretariat again, but she never conceived.

Anyway, I get what you were saying now. I didn't read into the message you responded to.

 

[jmbeck]

...completely within his power. You want to lose sponsorships and fans, keep a horse in unnecessary pain simply to gather biological samples. I'm sure as this is, unfortunately, a situation they deal with from time to time, the owners and trainers surrender emergency medical decisions to the track vet.

 

[HotMop]

I was an extra in a recent movie about this horse....
Ruffian

Relevance...this Filly was also put down at the track.

I'm a 17ing superstar I tell you.

 

[SteelDawg99]

They went on to say that you can clone a horse, but a cloned horse cannot race in the Derby. Can't even artificially inseminate one... Has to be good ole one on one horseee loving...

 

[Stansfield]

Fight dogs and go to prison, but break a horse's legs resulting in killing it in front of the world and you get to drink a mint julep and get PAID.

 

[Reb92]

"That was a goldmine that was put down. She finished 2nd in the Kentucky Derby. There's no telling what her colts would have been worth to the owner. Her bred to a Derby Winner would spit out colts that would be worth more than most of us will ever make in a lifetime."

Breeding a horse with known weak legs is about as profitable as breeding a Lab that has bad hips - Even if they could have helped her, she most likely would not have been bred for racing stock.

 

[JimHalpert.nafoom]

I'm at a loss for words.

 

[davatron]

on the incident.

It's sort of on the topic, so I didn't make a new thread.

Link